TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — In what would have been a disappointing loss to what started as a promising season, the Bears rallied in the final minutes of Saturday's game to keep hope alive.

Lorenzo Thomas went over a defender with 16 seconds remaining at Indiana State to haul in an acrobatic go-ahead touchdown to give the Bears a 29-26 thrilling win over the Sycamores.

Missouri State improves to 4-2 on the season with the victory and keeps its hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1990 alive.

Here's what happened in the comeback win:

Quick start for Bears, but Sycamores respond

After the opening kick, the Bears forced a quick three-and-out thanks to a sack by Angelo Garbutt on a delayed blitz. The loss of 12 gave the Bears the ball back quickly.

Bears starting quarterback Peyton Huslig was a perfect 4-of-4 for 43 yards on the opening drive while hitting receivers underneath corners who were playing in soft coverage.

Indiana State showed they came into the game focused on taking away Huslig's ground game and forcing other running backs to beat them.

Jeremiah Wilson and Donovan Daniels appeared to be up to the task on the first drive.

Wilson ran for 20 yards on the drive, while Daniels earned his 19th yard of the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead.

The Sycamores went three-and-out on the following drive, as did the Bears after not giving the ball to either running back opting for a pair of deep incompletions from Huslig.

Indiana State got on the board 10 seconds into the second quarter after star running back Ja'Quan Keys broke away for a 47-yard touchdown to tie the game.

Ground game works for Bears

Following the long Indiana State touchdown run, the Bears responded with their own long touchdown drive featuring a trio of MSU tailbacks.

The Bears started their third drive with four straight runs behind Daniels and Wilson with a Huslig seven-yard rush in between. Huslig then hit Damoriea Vick for a 13-yard completion which was followed by a pass interference call on the Sycamores to set the Bears up with the ball at the Indiana State 29.

After a Nick Masoner 10-yard rush on his first carry of the game, Huslig pitched the ball to Daniels on an option for a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Bears back its lead.

Bears extend their lead, catch a break

Following an Indiana State 48-yard field goal to cut the Bears' lead to four, Missouri State used a little more of an aerial attack to drive down the field.

Hulsig hit Antwan Woods for a gain of 12, followed by a pass to Lorenzo Thomas for a gain of 11. The big-bodied receivers posted up their defenders and made good plays on the ball.

With the ball at the 18, Wilson took a handoff and exploded through an open hole to run away for an 18-yard touchdown run to take a 21-10 lead.

Wilson finished the half with 48 rushing yards and a touchdown. Daniels had seven rushes for 35 yards and two touchdowns.

Indiana State had an opportunity to make it a one-score game going into halftime but the Bears caught a break.

Sycamores quarterback Ryan Boyle hit Dante Jones II for 16-yard completion inbounds with two seconds left in the half and no timeouts.

Instead of electing to spike the ball with two seconds left, the Sycamores rushed their field goal unit on the field. One of the linemen didn't run onto the field and time expired before the Sycamores could attempt a field goal.

Missouri State tailbacks combined for 109 yards and three touchdowns on 19 first-half carries. Seven different receivers caught a ball for the Bears.

Missouri State tailback Donovan Daniels scores one of his two touchdowns during Saturday afternoon's thrilling win over Indiana State.(Photo: Joe Garza/Tribune-Star)

Sycamores run for the lead

After holding the Bears to a three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, the Sycamores got their ground game going with a touchdown drive to cut MSU's lead to four.

On a 12-play, 73-yard drive, the Sycamores ran the ball 10 times for 62 yards behind Keys and Boyle.

Keys ended the drive that lasted 5:11 with a two-yard touchdown run for his second of the day to cut MSU's lead to 21-17.

Missouri State attempted to pin back Indiana State on its following drive after they failed to pick up a first down just inside Sycamore territory.

The Sycamores, again, drove down the field to take their first lead of the game.

On a 14-play, 85-yard drive, the Sycamores stayed to the ground as they rushed the ball 11 times for 55 yards. The drive was capped off by a seven-yard run by Keys for his third touchdown run of the game.

Missouri State receiver Damoriea Vick is well-defended on pass breakup during the Bears' thrilling win over Indiana State.(Photo: Joe Garza/Tribune-Star)

Bears make game-saving stand

With 12:33 left in the game, Steckel elected to punt on fourth-and-four at their own 49, giving the Sycamores the ball back at their own 17.

A 7:41 drive ended with a Bears defensive stand at their own one-yard line.

Angelo Garbutt and Tyler Lovelace kept Chri Covington out of the end zone on third down forcing the Sycamores to kick a 19-yard field goal to take a 26-21 lead and giving the Bears a chance with 4:04 left in the game.

Missouri State comes back

On the Bears' final drive of the game, Huslig led the Bears down the field for a go-ahead touchdown.

Huslig converted on a fourth down with a nine-yard rush to extend the drive past midfield. A pair of passes to Tyler Currie put the Bears in the red zone.

Huslig rushed the ball for five yards on 3rd and five to give the Bears a first down at the Sycamores' four.

With 16 seconds left, Huslig hit Thomas in the back corner of the end zone — who went over his defender — for a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining. Wilson punched in the two-point conversion to give the Bears a 29-26 lead.

From their own 30-yard line, the Sycamores couldn't pull off a miracle on the final play of the game.

Quotes and notes

"I gotta catch it. It's for the game. It was my first touchdown too." — Lorenzo Thomas on the go-ahead touchdown

"Yeah, I saw it. I was a little disappointed because of the push off. When they went to review if he got his foot in bounds, I was wondering why they couldn't review the push off. It was a great play call by Mack (Brown). We said the mismatch all week would be Zo on 33 and the good lord blessed us." — Dave Steckel on Thomas' touchdown grab

"We can play through adversity. We really proved to ourselves that if we make mistakes, we can fix those mistakes and play through them." — Peyton Huslig on coming up big on last drive, despite second-half offensive struggles

Steckel admitted he shouldn't have taken a timeout with 21 seconds left in the game and that he should have taken one with three seconds in order to not leave Indiana State any time left on the clock.

The head coach did take a timeout with 54 seconds left in the game following a run by Wilson that went for no gain at the Indiana State four-yard line. While he could have saved all three timeouts just in case the Bears didn't score, Steckel said he knew that score was for "all the marbles."

"We have a team with great chemistry and a great love for each other. it was obvious with the stop and then with that long drive." — Steckel

"We're worried about the next game." — Huslig interrupting a question about playoff possibilities.

What the win means

The Bears did what they were supposed to do, although it was closer than they would have preferred.

Looking at the big picture, the Bears are going to have to have six, if not seven, wins in order to qualify for the playoffs. This is their fourth win with five games left.

The Bears handled the Sycamores in the two previous seasons, and if MSU had lost this one, we'd be wondering how much progress they've actually made.

This Indiana State team isn't the one that lost every game last year. They're much improved, after good showings against Louisville, Eastern Illinois and South Dakota State.

The Sycamores took the Jackrabbits to overtime just a week ago. South Dakota State is currently ranked No. 2 in the FCS.

After watching the way the Sycamores played South Dakota State last week, the Bears should be feeling like they can beat anybody.

The Bears will most likely need to win their next two games if they want a shot at the postseason.

Up next

Missouri State returns home after a two-week hiatus for a two-week homestand starting with Western Illinois for the Bears' homecoming matchup.

Western Illinois entered Saturday with a 2-3 record before a night home game against FCS No. 1 North Dakota State.

The Leathernecks have played well in some games and not so well in others.

Western Illinois got off to a 0-2 start after dropping a close road game at Montana State before a 20-point loss to FBS-Illinois. They followed with a ranked win at home over No. 15 Montana and a close win over Youngstown State.

As for the one familiar opponent, Western Illinois lost 33-16 at Illinois State. The Bears knocked off the Redbirds 24-21 in Springfield.